Let’s just get this out of the way up front — Kobe Bryant is not as good as Michael Jordan. That may frustrate a handful of the Kobe apologists out there, but the fact is he is not, and that is not about ring count. Jordan was superior on the court.

But if you can compare anyone, it is Kobe. Just ask MJ.

Roland Lazenby is one of the better basketball book writers out there. His book “The Show” is maybe the best thing on the history of the Lakers, and his Jerry West biography is a brilliant study of the man. He wrote “Mad Game” about Kobe and numerous other books. He’s a friend of Tex Winter with great insight.

Kobe’s ultimate competition is MJ. That’s why MJ watches him. MJ made people think what he was doing wasn’t human. Ditto the Kobester.

I never said Kobe was better than MJ. MJ just told me Kobe’s the only one to have done the work, to deserve comparison.

MJ gets it. There have been far too many “the next Jordan” guys to come through the league, an unfair burden put on a lot of players. Kobe is the only guy with the will and the skill to even come close. Kobe and Jordan are cut from the same cloth, both driven to compete, to win, to do whatever it takes to get there. Their will and drive stood out in the ultra-competitive NBA. There will not be many more like them.

Sometimes, we should sit back and enjoy what we have. Savor it. Enjoy watching Kobe for being Kobe, not argue about what he is or is not.

That’s a fine sentiment. Saying it publicly is another matter. Not even Harden did that a couple years ago. He was recorded during a pregame team huddle.

There’s a fine line between self-fulfilling confidence and providing bulletin-board material to the opponent. There’s already some animosity between the teams stemming from the Stephen Curry-Harden MVP race in 2015, and it has bubbled since. No matter how harmless Capela’s remark might have been intended to be, it’ll be met contentiously in the Bay Area.

Oklahoma City traded for Victor Oladipo out of Orlando to be their third scorer, behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It didn’t exactly work out that way, Durant bolted town and when Westbrook went off Oladipo was looking for a place to fit in.

That place turned out to be the Pacers.

Oladipo has been playing like an All-Star this season with Indiana, and last week he was key in snapping Cleveland’s 13 game win streak, then turned around and dropped 47 points on Denver. For the week he averaged 35.7 points a game, shot 45.7 percent from three, plus grabbed 7.7 rebounds per game.